ES&S in Hot Water; Diebold et al Continue to Look Bad

Dear Friends of Open Voting:

We don't necessarily enjoy seeing members of the voting system vendor cartel continue to take a public beating, but it doesn't hurt our case, either.

There is an HDNet report by Dan Rather that exposes misdeeds by ES&S, the largest voting system vendor in the US. The report reveals that the iVotronic touchscreen has been made in sweatshops in Manilla, with workers that earn $2.50 per day. As far as I can tell, HDNet is only broadcast on cable and satellite. The program It airs tonight at 8 and 11 Eastern, and it will also air Aug. 15, 17, & 23.

The US Election Assistance Commission wrote a letter notifying ES&S of noncompliance [1].

In the mean time, Diebold stock has been downgraded by analysts from "buy" to "hold," due to concerns about their election systems division. A Forbes magazine article concludes, "investors could increasingly sour on the stock if Diebold does not try to sell the unit."http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/13/ap4012936.html

It has come to our attention that Election Systems & Software, Inc (ES&S) may be using a facility in Manila, Philippines to assemble some of its voting systems. As you know, it is a requirement for participants in the Election Assistance Commission’s Voting System Testing and Certification Program to disclose the locations of all manufacturing and assembly facilities. Information about the Manila facility was not included in the list of facilities ES&S provided to EAC.

Even though EAC has not issued any voting system certifications to ES&S voting systems, it is imperative that the company follow all of EAC’s reporting requirements to continue participating in our certification program. These reporting requirements are the cornerstone of EAC’s certification program, and we request that you immediately address this issue and provide EAC with a complete list of all facilities if the previously submitted information is incomplete. For more information about the reporting requirements, I refer you to Section 2 of EAC’s Testing and Certification Manual.

Consistent with Section 2.3.1.7 of EAC’s Testing and Certification Program Manual, please provide the EAC with a complete list of all ES&S manufacturing and assembly facilities within 30 days. Failure to timely comply with this notice by either providing the information requested or otherwise demonstrating compliance with our program will result in the suspension of your organization’s registration as a voting system manufacturer pursuant to Section 2.6 of EAC Testing and Certification Manual.

In the interest of successfully complying with the requirements of EAC’s program, I am confident you will immediately take the appropriate steps regarding our request for more information. Please contact me if you have questions.
Sincerely,